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Zhu
Zhu is a Tianchou'Ren monk and one of the last known followers of the Way of the Dancing Wind monastic tradition. Through his involvement with the spirits, Zhu has become an agent for the celestial court in Od Verda. Zhu is most notable for his tree-like appearance from his time on the island of Zuidao. Zhu is a current member of an unnamed party of adventurers including Ciaran, Khal, Kariir, and Trystan. This group also formerly included Grev, and Einar (who traveled with the party before Zhu joined). Appearance Due to the time Zhu spent on the island of Zuidao, his body underwent many physical changes from exposure to the spirit energy that was present there. Having a strong connection with the forests from home, Zhu found the most comfort among the trees of Zuidao. Because of this, his change to a Chang'e was heavily influenced by the lawful forest spirits that surrounded him. Zhu's skin has a rough bark-like appearance and is a dull grey color, much like the bark of a young tree. His hair is long and white, and the strands of hair have combined into what looks like a knot of vines growing from his head. Even his snow white beard has a soft moss-like appearance to it. Early Life Zhu Jingqiang was born in the year 970 AY in a small farming village, west of Antom's Landing, called Skåltvedt. His parents, FarMai and HanTsu, maintained a small produce farm here with the help of Jingqiang and his younger brother GaoMing. The Zhu family were followers of the Way of Ten Thousand spirits. Due to the strong Alfathan presence and the attitude of its followers towards followers of the way, they kept their faith a secret from the strongly Salandian community. One summer, there was a particularly rough drought, and the farm suffered as a result. Out of desparation Zhu HanTsu set up an offering to the spirit of the field Shen Nongchang. This was not a welcome sight to the other denizens of the town. Over the next couple weeks the reactions escalated from simple blessing of the home and visits from self proclaimed "missionaries," to more violent responses. One night, a group of intoxicated "missionaries" sent themselves as a message of the Alfather's displeasure with the Zhu family. They set fire to the few crops and grasses around the family's house. Due to the drought, the fire spread quickly and soon the small house was engulfed in flames. The entire family, except for Jingqiang, perished in the fire. In an attempt to save his brother before escaping the blaze, Zhu suffered severe burns to his left side as a piece of burning debris fell on his shoulder setting his tunic on fire. After the fire had subsided, Zhu returned to the house to salvage anything he could. Most everything was burned, but he was able to find a little bit of undamaged food from the family's store as well as his father's slightly charred garding hoe, and his mother's small flute. Badly burnt and alone, the young Jingqiang fled to the expanse of wilderness around Skåltvedt. Training Years After leaving Skåltvedt far behind, Zhu traveled into the wilderness to live on his own away from the terrible memories that his home now held. After a few hard weeks of barely surviving, he found a small home in the forest. The man who lived there, Li Laoshi, found him outside and agreed to take him in and care for him in return for Zhu helping him tend the gardens around the home. After some time living with this arrangement, Zhu learned that Laoshi was a follower of a very old monastic tradition known as the Way of the Dancing Wind. Over time, Zhu began to train in the ways of the order and learn to live by the tenets the path followed. With the help of Laoshi, Zhu was able to transform the old garden hoe, which he had always carried, into a stout staff with his family name engraved in it, that he was then able to train in combat with. For many years, the two lived in seclusion until the day that Laoshi passed into the next life. Years of Self Discovery As time had passed since the death of Li Laoshi, Zhu became more unhappy with his life. The place he had called home for the past 35 years, started to feel more and more unwelcoming. His faint connection to the spirits of the trees around him left him with constant feeling that he was meant to be somewhere else. After a few years, Zhu gave into the call and set off to find his place among the spirits. For years he wandered the wilderness of Vesland traveling from village to village offering his talents as a healer or a farmhand. Through his travels Zhu began to see that what was happening in Vesland was against everything his traditions taught him. It was being ruled by groups of traders and individuals who were able to use money to force people to do as they wanted. Zhu believed that this was part of his calling, but knew that the troubles extended far beyond Vesland. After years of travel, Zhu boarded the Crucible, a military vessel turned into a cheap passenger and cargo transport, headed toward Baernsk. He had heard tell of families such as the Cammarata that were the embodiment of the evils that Zhu had witnessed, and knew that if he were to help fight the problem he must find them at the root of their operations. On the way to Baernsk, the ship got blown off course during a large storm. After sailing blindly around the seas for a couple of weeks, the ship encountered another storm that eventually sank the Crucible and left the few survivors stranded on an island. The Island and Changes After the ship wreck, Zhu was able to make it to shore where he set about trying to help the few others who were able to make it to shore. He used what he knew about surviving in the wild to help set up a shelter and collect food for the people. One day, they were over taken by horrible beasts and most of the survivors were slaughtered and eaten near the beach. Those that survived fled inland to try to get away. After a few days wandering the island alone, Zhu felt a pull at the back of his mind. Following this drive, Zhu eventually found himself in a small grove of trees far from the horrors he had witnessed at the beach. He felt an overwhelming calm settle over him as the feelings that had driven him for years suddenly disappeared. Zhu knew this was where the spirits meant him to be. "Topaz" Zhu spent many years on the island. Through this time many changes occurred. Due to the strong spirit presence in the grove, Zhu began to form a deeper and more personal connection to the spirits around him. He started to be able to converse with the spirits while in a deep meditative state. He also learned to start embodying the spirits and using their energy in amazing physical feats, much like the ancient monks of his tradition. Through these close interactions with the spirits, Zhu also started to undergo physical changes. He began to change in appearance and his traits slowly started to transition to be more and more like the trees that surrounded him. One day in a vision, the spirits spoke a single word to him: "Topaz." The moment he heard it, Zhu awoke from his deep meditative state and felt the calm that surrounded him vanish. His grove was no longer his home. He knew that the spirits needed him elsewhere. As he awoke, Zhu noticed that something was different about the trees surrounding him. They were no longer the comforting quiet they had been, but were alive with an unnatural hum. That was when he noticed that the trees were full of brass men who were burning the trees. Zhu felt the pain of the spirits in his grove, but knew that he could not save them and that his path would lead him away as their paths came to an end. Following the familiar tug at his sub-conscience, Zhu left his new home to answer the call of a higher authority. The pull eventually led him back to the beach where a new vessel was stranded out at the edge of the reef of decaying ships. This is where he was now meant to be. Trials of Tien Long After a long and difficult journey full of the trials of the island, Zhu and his party found themselves at the top of the tower at the center of the island. The place was unnatural. First there was a hideous machine that violated everything Zhu believed. It was the physical embodiment of the abuse of power that had become rampant in the world as someone had seemingly used their station in the world to end the path of another. It also directly represented a direct bridge between the chaos and order of the world. There was no central balance that was required for nature to harmoniously exist in these opposing states. Worst of all, Zhu could not feel the guidance of the spirits that he had come to rely on. They were present, if not more abundant, but the voices were lost in the imbalance of this place. This disconnect made the battle that followed the hardest trial yet for Zhu. His confusion reached a peak near the end of the conflict when Tien Long manifested himself to the group in the tower. Zhu reached out to the spirits, but again received no guidance. He knew that something had to be done but both sides presented troubles. Tien Long appeared as a demon to Zhu who was imposing its will over this dreadful island. This had to be stopped because power like this was dangerous if left unchecked. On the other hand, the unnatural dichotomy of this place also had to be destroyed for it was the apparent source of much of the evil of the island. In the end, Zhu would follow the lead of the dwarf who seemed to embody nature itself. He would grab the large silver rod and destroy the evil machine that resided in the tower. With the machine destroyed the party was tasked with saving the great spirit, which was achieved by pulling a large golden rod from the physical manifestation of the great dragon spirit. With this done, Zhu could feel the dragon enter his mind. The next minute would pass as an eternity. You who claim to be a guardian of the spirits shall be judged in the eyes of the great Tien Long, Spirit of the Eastern Wind, and Guardian of the Natural Law, and cleansed in the fire of truth. Over the course of the next couple minutes, Zhu was engulfed in vibrant blue fire which did not physically burn him, but targeted to cleanse his very soul. During this time, Zhu experienced his entire life through the outside watching eyes of the great spirit. He witnessed the burning of his home, his failure to save his brother, his training with Li Laoshi, his travels throughout Vesland, and his years on the island. Through each experience he felt judgement passed about his intentions and his purpose. With each one he felt the dragon approval or anger. At the end of the journey down his path, the dragon judged him favorably and released him from the fire and bestowed upon him a gift. Although it would take him some time to understand it, Tien Long had granted him the key to unlocking the power of the spirits the way that the Mu-Shi of old had.